Railway car connector



Oct. 13, 1959 F. H; KAYLER 2,908,402

v RAILWAY CAR CONNECTOR Filed April 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 13, 1959 F. H.' KAYLER RAILWAY CAR common 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 2G, 1956 nited States Patent 4 RAILWAY CAR CONNECTOR Frank H. Kayler, Alliance,

Steel Foundries, Chicago, Jersey Ohio, assignor to American Ill., a corporation of New This invention relates to a connector arrangement for vehicles, and more particularly to an intermediate connector arrangement for multi-section railway oars.

The invention comprehends a pocket and shankv type coupler connector especially adapted for use in multisection railway cars of lightweight high speed trains.

It is well known to those familiar with the railway art that the present day trend in high speed lightweight railway trains is toward those comprising multi-section car units. This type of car arrangement generallycomprises a center or intermediate section, which is supported by a pair of single axle assemblies disposed at opposite ends thereof, and a pair of end sections, which are supported at their outer ends by single axle assemblies and which have their inner ends connected to and supported by the intermediate section.

Because multi-section units of this type require only infrequent coupling or uncoupling between sections, there is no necessity for their being provided with expensive automatic couplers. Thus, the cost of construction can be appreciably reduced by the use of manually operated couplers or connectors.

An appropriate connector arrangement for such use is a shank and pocket type of connector unit comprising a shank element mounted on one car section and detachably secured in telescopic relationship to a housing elen ment mounted on an adjacent car section. A connector unit of this type must be compact and of relatively simple construction, in order to be advantageous from the standpoint of both weight and cost of production.

However, inasmuch as connectors used on this type of cars are, in the course of normal operations, subjected to substantially the same draft and bung forces as other couplers, they must be able to withstand lateral, vertical, and torsional anglingbetween the car sections, as well as the usual amount of shocks and jolts, as standard couplers.

Thus, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple but rugged type of coupler connector that is particularly adapted for use in multi-section railway cars. Y

Another object of the invention is the provision of a connector arrangement of the shank and pocket type, wherein the members are able to withstand horizontal, Vertical, and torsional movements therebetween.

Afurther object of the invention is the provision of a shock and sound absorbing arrangement for a shank and pocket type connector.

A more speciic object of the invention is the provision of a car connector cushioning unit comprising resilient pads and bearing plates disposed between the outer walls of a shank and the inner walls of a housing.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings, where- 1n: 'v Figure 1 is a top plan View of an intermediate connector arrangement embodying features of my invention, part Qce of the structure being shown in horizontal section taken along line 141 of Figure 2;

FigureZ is a vertical sectional view taken along line 2 2 of Figure 1, with the resilient cushioning units also shown in vertical section;

Figure 3 is a front elevational View of the structure illustrated in Figure 1, with part of the structure being shown in vertical section on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevational View of a portion of the housing assembly being before assembly of the mating unit. l Figure 5 is a top plan 'View of a connector arrangement embodying -another form of my invention with portions of the structure being shown in section taken along line '5 5 of Figure 6;

Figure 6 is a side elevational View of the structure shown in Figure 5, and

Figure 7 is a sectional View taken along line 7-7 of 'Figure 5.

It will be understood that certain elements have been intentionally omittedfrom certain views where they are better illustrated in other views.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 through 4, it will be seen that the connector is shown as comprising a housing member indicated generally at and a shank member indicated generally at lf2, each of the members being rigidly secured, as by welds 14, to respective frames 16 of adjacent car sections.

The shank 11'2 includes an outwardly extending end portion 20, substantially rectangular as seen in cross-section in Figure 3, having upper and lower surfaces 22 and 24, respectively, -and side surfaces 26. The outer extremity of the end 20 presents a generally convex spherical bearing surface 28.

As best seen in Figure 2, the upper and lower surfaces 22 and 24 are preferably crowned to permit vertical rocking of the shank end relative to the housing. Shank end 20 is provided with an elongated opening 30 extending vertically therethrough and having a generally concave spherical rear surface l32 and an arcuate forward surface 34. As best seen in Figure 2, the arcuate suface 34 is preferably crowned to permit vertical rocking of the shank against the pivot pin as hereinafter described.

The housing member 10 is also rectangular, as seen in vertical cross-section, having integral top and bottom walls 66 and 38, respectively, side walls 40, and a rear wall 42 which define a pocket 44 therebetween.

A bearing block 446 having a generally concave spherical forward bearing surface 48 is disposed in the pocket with its at rear wall `50 engaging or adjacent the pocket rear wall 42. In order to take up any assembly clearance, a generally flat plate or shim y52 may be disposed between the pocket wall 42 and the rear surface S0 and retained in position by a bolt and nut assembly 54 extending through the :shim '52 and through a lug 56 depending from the housing.

Again referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that the shank end Ztl is telescopically received in the pocket 44 of housing lil and retained in position by a preferably vertically extending cylindrical pin 58 extending through aligned apertures 60 in the housing top and bottom walls 36 and 38 and through shank end opening Sil. To prevent its accidental displacement, the lower end of the pin 58 may be secured by a nut and bolt assembly 62 to a pair of `lugs 64 depending from the housing adjacent aperture 60.

The forward pin surface 66 is engageable with forward surface 34 of opening 30 while the rearward pin surface 68 is engageable with the arcuate forward surface 72 of a bearing block 70 disposed in opening 30 and having a generally convex spherical rear surface 74 engageable with rear surface 32 of opening 30. A retaining spring assembly 45 may be provided in bearing block recess 47 to maintain bearing block '70 in constant firm engagement with bearing surface 32 and pin surface 68. Because the forward surface 34 -of opening 30 is crowned, the bearing block l permits the shank to rock vertically with respect to pin 58 which has its upper and lower extremities tightly received in apertures 60 of the housing.

In order to absorb vertical shocks and eliminate` noise,v a pair of cushioning mechanisms indicated at 78 are disposed in pocket 44 adjacent the upper and 'lower surfaces of the shank. Each cushioning mechanism cornprises a pair of generally flat rectangular bearing plates 80, disposed to extend longitudinally of the housing on the respective opposite sides of pin 58, and a pair of substantially at rectangular resilient pads 82, preferably formed of rubber, positioned adjacent the bearing plates and seated in longitudinally extending generally rectangular'recesses 84 of the upper and lower walls of the housing. As seen in Figure 4 the plates 80 may be provided with generally centrally disposed semi-cylindrical recesses 80a at their inner edges to receive the pin 58 therebetween. Although in the embodiments of my invention illustrated in the drawings the resilient pads and bearing plates are shown in pairs, it is possible to form them as single'elements. However, having the units in pairs greatly facilitates assembly of the device and also affords improved bearing engagement between the plates and the shank end during torsional movement of the latter as shown at 20a in Figure 3. Such torsional movement is accommodated and resiliently controlled by the novel device.

To assemble the device the pads 82 and related plates 80 are inserted into pocket 44 with outer edges 86 of the plates 80 being received in longitudinally extending grooves or recesses 90 formed in the housing side walls 40. The inner edges 88 of the plates are raised back of retaining shoulders 92, formed on the forward edge of the housing, with the rubber pads 82 being received in the related recesses 84 of the upper and lower housing walls. The pocket bearing block 46 is then inserted into the pocket thereby locking in position the plates 80 and partially compressing the resilient pads. The shank end 20, having the shank end bearing block 70 already positioned in opening 30, is then inserted into the pocket between the upper and lower bearing plates with the bearing end 28 of the shank engaging the spherical bearing surface 48 of the bearing block 46. The insertion of the shank end serves to compress the resilient pads further. The shim 52 may then be inserted between the bearing block 46 and the housing wall 42 and secured to the housing by a nut and bolt assembly 54. The shank and housing may then be locked together by insertion of the pin 58 from the top of the housing through aligned apertures 60 and 30 of the housing and shank, respectively, with the lower end of the pin being secured to the housing wall 38 by nut and bolt assembly 62. It will be understood that in operation the shank is free for limited horizontal and vertical offset, as well as horizontal and vertical angling and torsional movement with respect to the housing. The cushioning units are operable to resiliently resist such vertical rocking as well as to eliminate noise from the movement of the parts.

Controlled relative vertical movement between the housing 10 and the shank end 20 is desirable. In the illustrated embodiment such movement is accommodated by spacing the block from the top and bottom walls of the housing and also by spacing the plates 80 therefrom. Thus, as shank end 20 moves vertically relative to the housing 10 either the top or the bottom pads 82 are compressed, and friction is developed between the block 46 and the shim 50 or between the block 46 and the rear wall 42 of the housing if a shim is not required.

Figures 5 through 7 of the drawings illustrate another form of my invention similar to the above described embodiment, but containing an additional cushioning arrangement, lindicated generally at 100, which is operable to resiliently resist movement of the shank and absorb sounds caused thereby. As the basic structure is similar to that illustrated in Figures l through 4, corresponding numerals have been employed to describe parts corresponding to those in the first described embodiment.

As best seen in Figure 5, the housing side walls have been provided with substantially rectangular apertures 102 extending therethrough and in which are disposed resilient pads 104 in abutting engagement with side walls 126 of the shank. Limiting of the angling movement may be achieved by providing each housing side wall 140 with a pair of inwardly converging spaced vertical surfaces 76 which are engageable with the sides 126 of the shank end 120. The pads 164 may be retained in engagement with the shank by a pair of substantially llat rectangular cover plates 106 disposed on opposite sides of the housing and secured to the related side walls 146 by cap screws 108. The operation of this embodiment is the same as that of the first described embodiment except Vthat additional cushioning is afforded for the horizontal movements of the shank end in the housing pocket.

Thus, it is contemplated that my novel connector device will accommodate vertical and horizontal angling or rocking movements, and vertical and horizontal offset or sideslap movements, as well as torsional movement between the respective members of the unit, and will cushion and yieldably resist such movements.

II claim:

l. 'In a connector arrangement between vehicles, a pair of mating connector members rigidly secured to the respective vehicles and demountably secured to each other in telescopic relation, one of said members comprising a housing substantially rectangular in vertical cross-section and having integral top, bottom, rear, and side walls forming therebetween a pocket open at the forward end of the housing, said top and bottom walls having aligned apertures extending therethrough, the other of said members comprising a shank with an end portion substantially rectangular in vertical cross-section having an opening extending vertically therethrough and presenting a convex spherical bearing surface at the end thereof, said end presenting in said opening a forward arcuate pin engaging surface and a rearward concave spherical bearing surface, a bearing block disposed in the pocket of the housing adjacent the rear wall, said shank being disposed in said pocket with the end convex bearing surface engaging a concave spherical bearing surface presented by said block, a pin extending through the housing apertures and the opening of the shank and operable to retain the shank within the housing pocket, non-resilient bearing plates disposed in the pocket immediately adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of the shank, resilient blocks disposed between 'the respective bearing plates and the upper and lower walls of the housing, and resilient pads disposed between the sides of the shank and the side walls of the housing.

2. In a connector arrangement between vehicles, a pair of mating connector members rigidly secured to the respective vehicles, one of said members comprising a housing having a pocket open at one end and presenting a pair of flat inner surfaces spaced from each other and extending parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the housing, the other of said members comprising a shank telescopically disposed in said pocket and presenting a pair of outer surfaces extending longitudinally of the shank, pin means detachably securing the shank to the housing, and resilient bearing means disposed in the pocket between the shank surfaces and the housing surfaces to yieldably resist angling of the longitudinal axis of the shank relative to the longitudinal axis of the pocket.

3. In a connector arrangement between vehicles, a pair of mating connector members rigidly secured to the respective vehicles, and demountably secured to each other in telescopic relation, one of said members comprising a housing substantially rectangular in vertical cross-section and having integral top, bottom, rear, and side walls deiining therebetween a pocket open at the forward end of the housing, said top and bottom walls having aligned apertures extending therethrough, the other of said members comprising a shank substantially rectangular as seen in vertical cross-section with an opening extending vertically therethrough, pin means extending through the openings of the housing and shank and operable to detachably secure the shank to the housing, generally Hat bearing plates disposed in the pocket above and below the shank, and generally at resilient pads disposed between the bearing plates and the top and bottom walls of the housing. i

4. `In a connector arrangement between rtwo vehicles, a housing member rigidly secured to one vehicle and presenting a pocket open at the forward end thereof, said pocket having -a rear wall presenting a concave spherical bearing surface, and top and bottom walls having recesses therein, a shank member rigidly secured to the other vehicle and ftelescopically disposed within said pocket, said shank having a convex spherical bearing surface at its rearward extremity in bearing engagement with the bearing surface of the pocket rear wall, pivotal pin means connecting the shank to the housing, and resilient means disposed in the pocket, said resilient means comprising generally Hat resilient pads disposed in the respective recess of the pocket top and bottom walls, and generally Hat bearing plates disposed between the respective resilient pads and the upper and lower surfaces of the shank.

5. In a connector arrangement between vehicles, a housing generally rectangular in section rigidly secured thereto and extending from one vehicle, a shank generally rectangular in section rigidly secured to and extending from the other vehicle, said shank being telescopically received in a pocket presented by said housing, pin means connecting said shank to said housing, said shank having a pair of outer surfaces extending longitudinally thereof, said pocket presenting a pair of inner surfaces extending longitudinally thereof, and resilient means interposed between the inner surfaces of the housing and the outer surfaces of the shank.

6. ln a connector arrangement according to claim 5, wherein said resilient means comprises rubber pads disposed in recesses presented by the oor and ceiling of the pocket, and beaning plates interposed between the resilient pads and the upper and lower surfaces of the shank.

7. A connector arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the resilient means comprises rubber pads disposed in apertures of the sides of the housing adjacent the respective sides of the shank, and cover plates secured to 'the sides of the housing to retain the resilient pads in abutting engagement with sides of the shank.

8. lIn a connector arrangement between two vehicles, a housing generally rectangular in section rigidly secured to one vehicle and presenting a pocket therein, said housing having upper and lower walls presenting cavities therein extending longitudinally of the housing and a rear wallv presenting a spherical bearing surface, a shank generally rectangular in section having a complementary spherical bearing surface at one end thereof and having an aperture extending vertically therethrough, said shank being disposed in said pocket with the bearing surface of said shank in engagement with the bearing surface of said pocket, said shank presenting outer surfaces extending longitudinally thereof means operable to retain said housing and shank in telescopic relation with each other, and resilient means disposed in the pocket cavities between the longitudinally extending shank surfaces and the housing 'to resiliently resist vertical movement of the shank relative to the housing.

9. A connector arrangement according to claim 8, wherein said resilient means comprises elongated at rubber pads disposed in the cavities of the upper and lower walls of the housing adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of said shank.

10. A connector arrangement according to claim 9, and including rubber pads interposed between the respective sides of the shank and the housing.

ll. A connector arrangement for railway cars comprising a housing rigidly secured tto one car and having a pocket therein, and a shank rigidly secured to an adjacent car and received in the pocket of said housing, pin means securing said shank to said housing, said means affording limited vertical and horizontal movement of the shank relative to the housing, and resilient means interposed between an outer surface of the shank and an inner surface of the pocket to cushion angling movement between the longitudinal axis of said shank and the longitudinal axis of said housing, the compressional axes of said resilient means extending in a direction generally normal to the longitudinal axes of the housing and shank.

12. An intermediate connector arrangement according to claim ll, wherein the means comprises rubber pads disposed in cavities in the floor and ceiling of said pocket and bearing plates interposed between said pads and the respective upper and lower surfaces of the shank.

13. An intermediate connector arrangement according to claim 11, wherein said resilient means comprises rubber pads disposed in the pocket between the sides of the housing and the respective sides of the shank.

14. A connector arrangement for vehicles comprising a housing rigidly secured to one vehicle, a projection rigidly secured to the other vehicle received within the housing, means including a pin affording a universal connection between the housing and projection, independent resilient units at opposite sides of the pin compressed between the housing and one side of the projection, and independent resilient units at opposite sides of the pin compressed between the housing and the opposite side of the projection.

15. A connector arrangement for vehicles comprising coupling members rigidly secured to respective vehicles, a universal joint type pin connection between said members, and resilient means yieldingly resisting relative angling movement between the longitudinal axes of said members, the compressional axis of the resilient means extending in a direction generally normal to the longitudinal axes of said members.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

